A Tale of the Northern Kingdom
by Redone
Summary: A chronicle entry, or How I wish it would have gone. AU. And I love history and chronicles, so I had dear Fara write a bit more, how things went on in the Southern Lands. Sheer history stuff, no action, angst or drama.
1. Reunification of Arnor

A Tale of the Northern Kingdom

From the Chronicles of History of the Kingdom, written down by Faramir, son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor, according to the words of Mithrandir, Elrond Peredhil and King Aragorn Elessar.

For the tale of the Ring until its disappearance, see Section VI, Founding of Eregion and the Rings of Power; and Section XXIV, King Isildur and the Battle of Dagorlad.

Section XLVIII, The Destruction of the Ring and the reunification of the Northern Kingdom

It happened in the year 2941, during the rule of Steward Ecthelion II Son of Turgon of Gondor, that the One Ring did indeed reveal itself once again in answer to its Master's call, coming out from under the mountain where it had dwelt for 500 years. And from the start Mithrandir became curious, finding Bilbo the Hobbit's story suspicious. So he shared his suspicions with Elrond, who was wise among his kin, and Elrond agreed with him that this matter needed to be looked into.

Mithrandir then travelled to Gondor where he sought out old documents stored in the archives of Minas Tirith, for if there was any information at all about the Ring, it was bound to be there, in the seat of King Isildur of old, who had possessed the Ring and refused to destroy it. Mithrandir returned to the North with grave tidings - that indeed there was a distinct possibility that Bilbo's ring was, in fact, the One Ring. He did not trust Saruman entirely, after the White Wizard had overruled the attack on Dol Guldur, so he did not bring the matter to the White Council, but instead travelled around, seeking more information. He was fortunate in that a few years afterwards some Elves brought words from their travels of a creature who was looking for a ring that "the Baggins had stolen". Elrond immediately sent out his warriors, and soon the creature Gollum was brought in for questioning, and the whole picture became clearer to the Wizard and the Elf Lord.

The matters were made more grave by the fact that Sauron had by then fled to Mordor, and had been known to send his servants to search the Great River near Gladden Fields - he had actively begun to call the Ring back to him.

Elrond sent his trusted lieutenant Glorfindel to bring Bilbo to Rivendell. Seeing as this was not really an invitation, but rather a summons, Bilbo obeyed; but when Elrond and Mithrandir asked him to surrender his ring, he baulked, saying he had not brought it with him. However, Mithrandir knew his old friend well; he knew Bilbo always kept the Ring with him, as a means to escape unwanted company. And he also knew more of the Ring now; he knew that to be able to leave the Ring behind would have been a very, very extraordinary feat, something that might have been beyond even the greatest of heroes. In the end, Bilbo had to admit that he indeed had it with him, wondering what had made him lie to an old friend in the first place. Mithrandir only smiled sadly and said, "Come, and all shall be explained to you."

So Mithrandir and Elrond sat Bilbo down behind a table and explained to him what it was that he had in his possession; and indeed, Bilbo was much frightened; and when they heated the ring, and letters appeared on it, Bilbo dropped it from his hand, exclaiming: "Oh I wish I had never found it!" In the end did the unthinkable - he left Rivendell, leaving the Ring behind.

Now, there was a young mortal raised in Lord Elrond's household, known by the name Estel. Young Estel was deeply in love with the beautiful Arwen daughter of Lord Elrond, a fact which Elrond did not like. So he asked whether Estel would take it onto himself to destroy the Ring, which could only be accomplished in the fires of Orodruin; and for the love of Lady Arwen, Estel agreed.

He undertook a perilous journey to the land of Mordor, where Sauron had meanwhile declared himself openly and begun to rebuild Barad-dûr. Finally he stood before the great chasm of fire, and doubt seized him. He thought of how he could give the Ring to the lady Arwen, in token of his love, and she would be bound to him forever, and her father Elrond would not be able to forbid it; he closed his eyes and saw a vision of himself offering the Ring to Arwen. And the lady Arwen, in his vision, laughed and said that surely, he was joking. Twice more he offered the Ring to the lady, asking for her love in return, and finally she accepted him and they were powerful and happy together, ruling over both Men and Elves.

Coming back to himself, Estel was shocked at himself. He would never, ever offer her anything that bore even the slightest taint, for in his eyes she was a vision of purity. So determined that he would rather live without his love than dishonour her, he tossed the Ring into the Fire; and in the end it was only suitable that the error of Isildur was to be undone by his heir.

Estel himself almost perished in this, because the moment when the Ring was destroyed, Orodruin erupted in fires and the lands were shaken in a powerful earthquake that swallowed the very foundations of Barad-dûr. Estel was perched on a rock where he waited, without food or water, for a week until he was found by the Lord of Eagles and rescued. It took all the healing skills of Lord Elrond and Mithrandir to bring him back to life, but in the end Estel was healed.

Then Lord Elrond revealed to Estel his true heritage, that he was in fact Aragorn, son of Arathorn, heir of Isildur. Aragorn's deed was much acclaimed in all Elven realms of Eriador, and the remnants of Aragorn's own people, the Dunedain of the North, flocked to their newly found leader.

An age of prosperity and rebuilding began in the Northern Kingdom. Many towns were rebuilt, among them Fornost Erain and Tharbad, and Eregion was cleansed and resettled by a group of Elves from Imladris and Mithlond. Saruman the White's one-time desire for the One Ring was revealed, and he left Middle Earth and journeyed back home; his tower in Isengard was reclaimed by the Dunedain.

The Dunedain and other Men of the North repeatedly approached Aragorn with a plea to restore the Kingdom of the North; but Aragorn hesitated. He had not known of his heritage when growing up, and had no wish to rule as a king. Instead, he left his people in the hands of trusted friends and kinsmen, among whom Lord Elrond of Imladris was not the least, and disappeared into the Wild for long years. Later it was revealed that he had served in Rohan and even in Gondor, under an assumed name.

However, returning to his people, he could no longer deny them, and he was crowned king of Arthedain and Rhudaur; and later, when the wild Dunlendings were subdued and Dunland also brought under the King's Peace, Cardolan also joined the two other realms, and the kingdom of Arnor was unified once again. Aragorn named himself Heir of Elendil, instead of Isildur, because he wanted to disassociate himself from one who had brought peril upon Middle-Earth; and in him, through Firiel daughter of Ondoher of Gondor, the bloodlines of the North and South were reunited.

Elrond indeed could not refuse his ward the hand of his daughter; but it was Arwen who had doubts. She was much older than Aragorn, and had seen many of his forefathers expend their first puppy love on her, and thought Aragorn's love would pass similarly. However, as years passed and Aragorn was still as ardent as when they had first met, Arwen had a change of heart. So, after returning from the Southern lands, Aragorn proposed to her once more (for the fifth time) and soon after Aragorn's coronation, they were wed.

Many guests came to the wedding, including Bilbo Baggins of the Shire. Bilbo brought with him a young kinsman, one Frodo Baggins, who was but a little over ten summers old; both Aragorn and Arwen liked the youngster very much for his lively spirit.

Among the guests was also the heir of the Steward of Gondor (for the Steward himself could not leave his realm). Denethor was much embittered by Aragorn's perceived cheating, and when Aragorn invited Gondor to the reunified Kingdom of Elendil, he was rejected.


	2. Gondor and the Southern Lands

**A Tale of the Northern Kingdom**

_From the Chronicles of History of the Kingdom, written down by Faramir, son of Denethor Steward of Gondor._

**Section XLIX, the Southern Lands during the dark years**

When Aragorn of Arnor destroyed the Ring, that was in the year 2955, Third Age, Sauron was unmade; but his servants yet lingered in the Black Land. And although many were undone in the destruction of the Dark Tower, many more remained, and they did not seem to realize that their leader was no more. They tried to go on with their lives, but with no one at their head, their huge army began to fall apart. And yet, the vast pits where Orcs were bred still worked on for years at full capacity, and they multiplied fast, and in great numbers.

Then also, the chiefmost of Sauron's servants, the Ringwraiths, made themselves known once again, as they had not followed their master into oblivion, for loyalty is not in the nature of evil.(1) The Witch-King still held the Tower of Morgul, and three other Nazgūl flocked to him. Another of the Nazgūl lords held the keep of the Morannon, with some of his companions; and the site where once Sauron's Dark Tower had stood, was reclaimed by the Nazgūl Khamūl who had dwelt in Dol Guldur after Sauron, ere he was driven out from that lair by the joint forces of Mirkwood, Lothlorien, Dale and Rhudaur. These three most powerful of the Ringwraiths tried to join all the forces of Mordor under them, but they were divided, and warred among themselves for decades, so that several of the Ringwraiths perished. Also, as it began to sink in that the single will that had held it all together was no longer, many higher warlords and generals began to vie for power, and the land was in a constant state of strife for many years.

But although Mordor was thus prevented from launching a powerful attack against its neighbours, skirmishes in Ithilien were constant, for that was where the Orcs were looking for their source of food, while Gondor struggled to keep these lands under its control. But the Steward, Denethor son of Ecthelion, who had defied Aragorn of Arnor, was suspicious of his northern neighbours, ever fearing a treacherous attack from the armies of Arnor, and so he kept a good part of his forces on the Northern border, and could not therefore counter the attacks from Mordor with full power.

At that time there were several consecutive years of drought and failed crops in Khand and many parts of Rhūn, and sand storms destroyed their fields irreparably. Many people fled from famine, moving westwards in great numbers. Most of them flocked to Harad, and some of them even as far as South-Gondor, from where they began to pressure on the borders of Gondor, aspiring to take new lands for themselves to settle in, for they could not return to their homes; and they knew the ruler of Harad to be weak, and unable to offer resistance. The Easterlings soon became powerful in Harad, and held much influence.

In the year 3005 Third Age an epidemic of hemorrhagic fever swept over the lands of Harad, and the Ruling Queen of that land succumbed to the disease and died. As she was heirless, one powerful warlord and general from Khand took the throne; he was called Royal Tower in the tongue of the Men of the West. The new King married a woman from the Harad royal house and began to strengthen the realm, and brought the forces of Khand and Harad under his banners willingly. Soon parts of Khand swore allegiance to his rule, but as these lands were ravaged, Harad now set his eyes on the rich lands of Gondor.

The black ships of Umbar intensified their attacks upon the ports and shore-lands of Gondor, finding encouragement and support from the King of Harad. And then also the three Nazgūl lords managed to subdue their armies, and Morgul and Barad-dur joined forces, wishing to carry on Sauron's plans. Also, having lost the stronghold of Dol Guldur, the squabbling lords of Mordor were trying to establish another foothold outside their land, from where to continue their conquest, for the Witch King was desirous of reclaiming his old realm of Angmar, and the lands of the Numenoreans. The Orc attacks became more frequent every year, and the lands of Ithilien were beleaguered more fiercely than ever. And so Gondor was harassed from all sides.

-B-

Steward Ecthelion II son of Turgon had died shortly after the reunification of the Realm of Arnor. He was succeeded by his son, Steward Denethor II, and it was under Denethor's rule that those most trying times came upon Gondor. But Denethor was a clever and cunning diplomat and a most able ruler, and for several decades he managed to keep peace within the borders of his realm.

But despite his efforts Gondor was in a constant state of war, and there were skirmishes, the lands of Ithilien were ravaged by the Orcs of Mordor, and oftentimes Haradrim crossed the border and harassed towns and villages; and the corsairs of Umbar held Belfalas and Lebennin in terror. The Palantir of Minas Tirith, a great heirloom brought from Numenor by Elendil himself, enabled Denethor to see his enemies' moves and anticipate them; but he did not know that another of such stones had survived in Minas Morgul, and so the Steward fell prey to the Witch King. This opened his thoughts to Mordor, and it resulted in many defeats in battle and many lost lives. And yet, the bewitchment was such that the Steward was unable to set aside the stone; his will crumbled and it made him heart-sick if he did not consult the Palantir regularly.

The realm of Arnor had had its time of respite and renewal, for the main fortress of Evil was cleared out, and many of the servants of Sauron had preferred to retreat to the Black Land or hid in dark places after the destruction of the Ring. The spirits of Men were uplifted with the return of their King, and the forces of the dark could find no foothold in them. But for the realm of Gondor little had changed. It was as if Sauron had never been destroyed, for the Witch King pressed upon them furiously, and the forces of the Nazgūl of Morannon came from the North. Little help could be expected from Gondor's ally of old, Rohan, for they were also under constant attack from Morannon, and their king's rule was failing.

Rohan had stood by Gondor ever since its founding by Eorl of the Norsemen, but now, with the North Kingdom on the rise and the South Kingdom weakening under constant assault, some of the Horse Lords began to advocate for closer ties to Aragorn of Arnor. One such was the king's only son and heir, Theodred. But there were many who resented Arnor's ties with the Lady of Lothlorien, whose lands lay on Rohan's border, and also Aragorn's dealings with the Dunlendings; and many had hoped to bring the rich Wizard's Vale under Rohan after Saruman's departure, and were sorely disappointed when the Dunedain refused them. So there was much argument and anger in Rohan, and in a fell act of treason Prince Theodred fell under an assassin's hand. King Theoden was deeply grieved and lost interest in the matters of his realm. And Prince Eomer, who commanded the Rohirrim in Eastmark, was away fighting the forces of Morannon, and could not spare attention for matters not of his land.

In this dire hour the sons of Denethor of Gondor saw that their realm was on the brink of destruction, and took counsel; and risking the wrath of his father, who had forbidden any contacts with the North Kingdom of the Dunedain, the elder son Boromir travelled secretly to Arnor to seek aid.

-----!----

_(1)Interestingly, this paragraph has two remarks written on the margins of the manuscript. We have to conclude that these were written shortly after the text was completed, and as such, they provide an interesting insight into the topical debates of the era. The remarks are in two different handwritings, the second one distinctly Elvish, whereas in the case of the first one is still debated whether it was written by an Elf or a Human who had learned his letters from the Elves. The remarks run as follows:_  
_(a) I cannot fully agree with my Lord Steward Faramir's assessment. The victory would have come much easier, had it not been for the loyalty of their simple soldiers to their leaders._  
_(b) It truly pains me to say this, but my Foster-son is merely waxing philosophical. If you want your garden to bloom and prosper, you have to weed out all poisonous roots, not ponder about their loyalty._  
Redone


End file.
